ProCare Ripoff Said the car was fixed but when I did a simple test to check it wasn't They didn't fulfill their promise commitment statements as advertised Allen Texas

I'm writing this note to let you know that your ProCare location in Allen TX Alma/McDermott, has failed to fulfill its promise of Being in the business of earning my trust as your business motto so proclaims on a poster inside the waiting room. They claimed my car was fixed and it wasn't. I caught them trying to rip me off (work order# 10391 Invoice#7799).

On 01/10/04, I took my car in with some electrical problems. Mainly, one of the headlights was not coming on. The manager on duty (Dan Nissen) told me I would have to drop the car off and would get a call when the car got fixed. The next day, on a Sunday an hour before the shop closed, I got a call stating that the car was ready to be picked up. I got to the shop and they told me that they had replaced the light bulbs and that everything was working properly. They charged me around $150. I thought that was a little steep for a light bulb, but trusted your service. I went outside and before getting in the car I decided to test the lights.

The lights came on properly at first, but when I switched to the high beam mode, only one light came on. So, I was back to square one except $150 short and two 30-miles trips. My feeling was that they figured I wouldn't test the high beams and that they could probably get away with making it look like it was fixed. I immediately notified the manager on duty who got somebody out to check out the work. His comment was that it had to be diagnosed again. I asked how long it would take and he said he had to talk to his manager.

While I was waiting in the office, I read another promise to the public published in the waiting room. It stated that if the car was not ready when promised that pick-up/drop-off transportation would be provided and a free oil change on my next visit. I mentioned to the manager on duty that my wife had dropped me off and that she was gone. He asked me were I lived. When I said McKinney, his replied was that is far, we cannot drop you off. His suggestion was to take my car and bring it the next day.

At this point, I had no idea if I they were trying to pull a fast one with my car, or if they had even really diagnosed the car to begin with. And to top it all off, they weren't even honoring their promise as stated on their bulletin board.

I was so upset, I decided to go home and just bring it the next day even if I had to miss work in the morning. I assumed since they had messed up that they would make it a priority the next day and I could bring it in first thing on Monday. I called on Monday first thing and talked to Dan Nissen. He said the electrician didn't come in until 10:00 a.m. and that I would need to call back and see if he would be able to look at it because I had a lot of other cars ahead of me. I took that as a total insult and total disregard for their prior mistake. I said I had been there the prior day and that the car had not been repaired as promised. He responded that he was aware of it and that I needed to call back to check if the electric guy was even going to be able to make it because he had been complaining about some pain.

So, here I was without being able to go to work totally at the mercy of some crook mechanics. My trust in your business was now severely damaged to the point that I feared if I didn't take the car today (and waited until Wednesday like Dan suggested) that I was going to be totally blown off by your business.

I called again at the suggested time. He said I could bring the car, but had no guarantee that it would be done that day. I said I didn't have anybody to drop me off so I would have to wait until the car was done. He said I suggest you find a ride because it's going to be a long wait. I said I would be there in one half-hour. When I got there, Dan N. reiterated that it was going to be a long wait. Finally, Dan N. came out and said the car was ready. At this point, I had had it with their unapologetic attitude about saying that the car was ready the day before and having made me miss an entire day of work and not honoring their promise to provide transportation. I pointed to the bulletin to Dan and showed him how, in big letters, it said that I was entitled to transportation and a free oil change for not having my car ready as promised. Dan said that his people made a mistake because they were not supposed to work on the car that day and so, therefore, I did not qualify for that promise/guarantee. I said to him that was his internal mistake, not mine. They scheduled for me to pick up the car stating it was ready when it wasn't. I told him all the trouble I had to go through because of their mistake. I told him that I don't have the best opinion about his business. His response was unprofessional and rude to say the least.

To set the record straight, I wasn't really asking for the free oil change (nothing would make me ever come back to your business). . . What I was asking for was a fulfilling of your promise/guarantee, something that said we are not crooks, we didn't try to rip you off, we still mean what those posters said about being in the business of earning your trust.

My recommendation is, first of all, don't publish promises/guarantees that your individual shops will not carry out unless there is a system in place to make sure the auto shops follow corporate policy. Second, provide your employees with some minimum customer care and professional sales/management, and technical training. I'm not making these recommendations so that I can do business with you again, but so that the people I don't mange to tell about your business practices (at least 10 of my close contacts and whoever reads this letter at http://www.ripoffreport.com/view.asp?id=45090) will get the professional service customers deserve.

Mario
Allen, Texas
U.S.A.